Market Buzz: Russian markets to stay in the black as investors ‘wait and see’

Both RTS and MICEX made a turnaround on Tuesday closing the trading session in the black. Analysts say positive investor sentiment will continue during the day, with political issues stalking the indices in the longer term.

The RTS ended Tuesday’s session at 1.85%, with MICEX also going up to 1.95%. Russian stocks were on the rise, with Gazprom shares showing the best dynamics on the back of the expectations of high dividends in 2011, up 2.15%. Russia’s banking sector was also among major gainers, as Sberbank privileged shares added 0.75%, VTB stocks were up 0.98% and Rosbank became more expensive by 1.42% .Positive data about the index of business optimism in Germany inspired European markets on Tuesday, says Nikita Ignatenko from Investcafe. French CAC 40 added 0.9% and the German DAX grew 0.78%. S&P futures were up 1.2%, which says American stocks must be positive as well, Ignatenko explains.Political factors will continue to have a significant say in Russia’s market movements, says Mark Rubinshtein, a senior analyst at Metropol IFC. Another demonstration planned for the coming weekend in Moscow is likely to affect Russian indices. However, general sentiment is likely to remain quiet ahead of the New Year period, as “most investors will take a ‘wait and see’ approach”, concludes Rubinstein.